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I was at a party today where a young french lady had come with her friend. after the usual introductions, I used the opportunity to ask a question bugging me for so long - "how is that sarkari french orgs like airbus , dassault, snecma , mbda et al have been delivering world class products for decades" ? while we struggle here to run sarkari strategic orgs effectively

she said the francisi sarkar has financial stakes in these cos due to strategic nature of the tech, and funds them as needed BUT they are essentially run as private sector orgs with no sarkari interference/rules/payscales/unionbazi etc. so just like any good private org, they are no different from the flexibility that boeing or lockheed gets.

she knew about ISRO and came back at me saying isro may be sarkari but its respected worldwide as a org and shows that non-interference and good leadership can make things happen.

so that conversation solved one little mystery for me.

I have been advocating precisely this thing for Indian PSUs (HAL for example) - Full autonomy in administrative and economic decisions and freedom from shackles of babudom/matridom. IMO it is absolutely un-necessary to sell a PSU to make it work. And as correctly pointed out ISRO is already an example that we have which proves that minimum interference from babudom and autonomy can work wonders. It doesn't really matter whether GOI owns a company or not. If they allow the company to work independently just like any pvt company, there is no reason why it cannot succeed.

Given the crony capitalist nature of existing pvt companies, I would like to have at least one GOI owned alternative in every key sectors which competes with pvt companies like a pvt company, but focuses more on maintaining quality rather than just sucking out blood from customers. So that citizens are not left to the mercy of capitalists for key facilities/services. At the same time autonomy would ensure we don't also become an communist system either which is even worse than crony capitalism. I always felt India needs something in between and I feel GOI owned fully autonomous organisations are the way to go. Neither be they given more privileges than other private entities such as bailing out for gross inefficiency or failures, nor be bogged downed by unnecessary baggage that comes with being a government entity such as job security, caste based reservation, unions, dictated pay structure or having to deal with wishes and whims of babudom/mantridom.

On the other hand, we have eurofighter example that shows what can go wrong in this setup. They have the same freedom as dassault and other french companies. Most likely French armed forces and industry better working relationship and cross-domain expertise???http://www.businessinsider.com/r-austri ... bus-2017-7

Austria wants to end its Eurofighter jet program early and replace it with a cheaper alternative fleet of aircraft leased from another government, its defense minister said on Friday, amid a legal battle over the jets with Airbus.

pandyan wrote:On the other hand, we have eurofighter example that shows what can go wrong in this setup. They have the same freedom as dassault and other french companies. Most likely French armed forces and industry better working relationship and cross-domain expertise???http://www.businessinsider.com/r-austri ... bus-2017-7

Austria wants to end its Eurofighter jet program early and replace it with a cheaper alternative fleet of aircraft leased from another government, its defense minister said on Friday, amid a legal battle over the jets with Airbus.

Eurofighter or any such project is at a disadvantage due to the tussle between multiple countries/government. Too many cooks generally spoil the food. I don't think this particular example is germane here.

This is the link. Many interesting snippets, especially the HAL portion (26 Su-30s delivered), and BEL (17 TCR). BEL is also developing a GCS for the MBT segment. Finally. With the GCS from BEL and GMS advancements from DRDO/BEL, we would have moved away from 2 critical import areas for the Arjun.http://ddpmod.gov.in/e-book

Defence Minister Shri Arun Jaitley released a booklet here today highlighting efforts made by Department of Defence Production in the last three years in pursuance of self-reliance in defence sector. It is a compilation of the achievements of the Department of Defence Production in the field of indigenous production of weapon systems/platforms and policy initiatives undertaken in the past three years.

Ever since the launch of ‘Make in India’ initiative in September 2014, the focus has been to improve the business environment by easing processes to do business, encourage participation of Indian public and private sectors in defence production and promote innovation and indigenous development of equipment and weapon platforms.

The booklet mentions a number of policy initiatives which have been taken by the Department of Defence Production. These are relaxation in Foreign Direct Investment policy, providing exchange rate variation protection to domestic industry, level-playing field to private sector in terms of excise duty/custom duty at par with public sector, liberalising licensing policy and extending the validity of industrial licensing to 15 years, streamlining defence offset guidelines and restoring services as an avenue for discharge of offsets. It also includes facilitating exports by issuing NOC online, hosting procedure for issue of NOC and list of military stores in public domain besides doing away with end-user certificate, revising make procedure to promote design and development, promulgating green channel policy, categorising certain Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) products as non-core, aligning payment terms of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), etc. It also mentions about ‘Make in India’ portal for defence production which is a very industry-friendly website covering all policy procedural issues.

The booklet also mentions that Ordnance Factories and DPSUs, working under the administrative control of Department of Defence Production, have not only enhanced their production from ₹ 44,000/- crore to ₹ 56,000/- crore but have also delivered many state-of-the-art platforms to the Armed Forces, including Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’, Surface to Air Missile System ‘ Akash’ . During the last three years, 128 industrial licences have been issued.

Other highlights are, all naval ships and submarines on order are being constructed in Indian shipyards and percentage of capital procurement from Indian vendors has gone up from 47 to 61 in the last three years.

A number of steps are being taken to augment production capacity by DPSUs, such as infrastructure building for Mine Counter Measure Vessel at Goa Shipyard Ltd., new helicopter manufacturing facility at Tumakuru, second production line for Dhruv at Kanpur, manufacturing capacity for T-90 and PINAKA Rockets and manufacturing facilities for Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) at Ibrahimpatnam, Hyderabad.NAo/Nampi/DK/RAJ(Release ID :167187)

In two years, BEML claims to have indigenized 84% of the aggregates for TATRA trucks. If true and not more fudging via imports and repainting by a supplier and then onwards to BEML, it only shows the depth of local expertise available in India & that we were deliberately importing unecessarily in years past.

Garware Wall Ropes Ltd (GWRL), a technical textile manufacturer, and Aero-T, an Israeli technology company, have joined hands to produce advanced aerostats, which help in low-level ground surveillance in different terrains.

The Pune-based GWRL and Aero-T, a subsidiary of RT LTA Systems, Israel, signed an MoU to manufacture aerostats (tethered balloons) and supply it to the Indian defence forces. The pact comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Israel.

The aerostats when combined with advanced radar systems will become a force multiplier and significantly improve the precision and accuracy of surveillance. India and Israel already have a long-standing collaboration in the area of radars.

Aerostats, which cost a few crores depending on the size, can operate at heights of up to 15,000 km. They are highly versatile in their mobility given their portability and can be deployed in varied terrains providing an omnipresent eye to monitor threats.

For the ₹870-crore turnover GWRL, aerostats will be a natural diversification, says Vayu Garware, CMD of the company. “We will combine our strengths with Aero-T to develop advanced aerostats,” he said.

Chief Executive Officer, Shujaul Rehman, told BusinessLine in a telephone chat from Pune, that the company has been into defence for the past couple of years. It has developed the aerostat and a radome in collaboration with the Aerial Delivery Research and Delivery Establishment, Agra under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). While continuing the cooperation, the joint venture partners will work with end-customers to understand their needs and co-develop customised solutions.

The MoU provides for indigenous development, production, delivery and maintenance support for the aerostats required for both military and civilian use. It will entail GWRL establishing an aerostat envelope production facility and Aero-T providing the technology, electronics, integration with radar and continuous support.

Rami Shmueli, CEO of Aero-T, said GWRL will be the supplier of choice for aerostat systems in India. The company provides aerostats suitable for all weathers conditions and across varied terrains ranging from very hot deserts to ice cold mountains.

“Aero-T is committed to provide complete technology know-how to GWRL. The advanced production facility in India will provide us an opportunity to cater to the growing global demand, based on high quality and cost-effective solutions,” he added. Aero-T possesses complete know-how for developing and operating a variety of aerostats with over 30 years of Lighter Than Air (LTA) operations.

GWRL established in 1976 provides customised solutions in the field of fisheries, aquaculture, shipping, sports, agriculture, coated fabrics and geosynthetics. Its products are manufactured in facilities at Wai and Pune. Nearly 50 per cent of its revenues come from exports of aquaculture products and sports goods.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has received initial approvals from the government to set up a Rs 3,000-crore foundry to produce a “wonder” nano material, gallium nitride, that is emerging as one of the most efficient semiconductors for next-generation strategic technologies, including radars and communication systems.

“The proposal to set up a foundry at the IISc for producing GaN is a good development. Gallium nitride technology will substantially help in the development of next-generation radars, seekers and communication systems, and will be useful in systems like Light Combat Aircraft,” said R K Sharma, the director of the DRDO’s (Defence Research and Development Organisation) Solid State Physics Lab.

Among the areas where GaN semi-conductors can be used are phased array radars for electronic warfare, like AESA radars that are fitted on ultra-modern fighter jets.

Akashdeep is a TD, meant to start a basis for large aerostats & the project was successfully demonstrated and closed. These aerostats being spoken of are the large ones, which can hoist large systems. The DRDO equivalent program is yet to be seen. AFAIK, the Akash deep follow on, while larger was still a level below the size of the kind we use to hoist AESA radars.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has received initial approvals from the government to set up a Rs 3,000-crore foundry to produce a “wonder” nano material, gallium nitride, that is emerging as one of the most efficient semiconductors for next-generation strategic technologies, including radars and communication systems.

“The proposal to set up a foundry at the IISc for producing GaN is a good development. Gallium nitride technology will substantially help in the development of next-generation radars, seekers and communication systems, and will be useful in systems like Light Combat Aircraft,” said R K Sharma, the director of the DRDO’s (Defence Research and Development Organisation) Solid State Physics Lab.

Among the areas where GaN semi-conductors can be used are phased array radars for electronic warfare, like AESA radars that are fitted on ultra-modern fighter jets.

Akashdeep is a TD, meant to start a basis for large aerostats & the project was successfully demonstrated and closed. These aerostats being spoken of are the large ones, which can hoist large systems. The DRDO equivalent program is yet to be seen. AFAIK, the Akash deep follow on, while larger was still a level below the size of the kind we use to hoist AESA radars.

Thanks for the info.

Are the follow-on of Akashdeep in progress since didnt hear anything on that front after closing of the TD project ( since its assumed that TD was succesful and so should logically mean the follow on is on way)?

With a slew of indigenous products and programmes, HAL has already been contributing to the governments’ ‘Make in India’ initiative, says Raju.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is the premier organisation amongst the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) in India. Its chairman and managing director, T Suvarna Raju talks to Biz India about the challenges of heading an institution that’s at the forefront of developing India’s indigenous aerospace and defence industry. Along with that he also discusses their current initiatives and future plans.

It has been two years since you have been heading HAL. What have been the challenges so far? How was the company’s performance in the last fiscal year and what are your projections for the next year?

It is a matter of pride and also a huge responsibility to head HAL that has shaped the aviation history of the country with consistently excellent performance over the years. Being at the helm of affairs, the challenge has been to take the company forward and transform it into a system integrator supported by reliable and capable partners.

The major challenge for the company at present is to put in place a robust order book for continuity in production and Research and Development (R&D) programmes.

Major orders for LCA, ALH, LCH, HTT-40 are in the offing and together with the R&D programmes like FGFA, IMRH, UAVs, and Su-30 MKI upgrade, we expect that it will boost the order book position.

With respect to performance during the last fiscal, the company had yet another successful year recording the highest-ever turnover of INR 174 billion (USD 2.7 billion). We had an eventful year with programmes HTT-40 and LUH prototypes touching the skies, core engine of 25 KN Turbofan Engine (HTFE-25) successfully reaching 100 pc RPM and handing over of the first two ALH-WSI (Rudra) to the India Air Force (IAF). The year also witnessed the carriage flight of Su-30MKI aircraft with BrahMos missile integration. This is the first time in the world that such a heavy weight supersonic cruise missile has been integrated on a fighter aircraft. Other important events include Initial Operation Clearance (IOC) of Jaguar Darin III aircraft, flight of indigenously upgraded Hawk Mk 132 aircraft named as Hawk-i, first flight of Final Operational Clearance (FOC) upgraded Mirage aircraft, etc., to name a few.

Another landmark event of the year was Aero India 2017 wherein HAL’s indigenous products HTT-40, Hawk-i, LUH and LCH participated in the flying display along with Su-30 MKI and LCA Tejas. The full-scale mock-up of IMRH was the main attraction among other products highlighting the technical, research and operational excellence of the company.

HAL aims to achieve operational clearance of LCH, Final Operation Clearance (FOC) of Jaguar Darin III, and Mirage upgrade platforms during the year. Two civil Do-228s that are under production towards the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) programme will also touch the skies in the current fiscal.

Could you tell us about the indigenisation programmes undertaken by HAL so far?

HAL, since inception, has been in the forefront of developing indigenous aerospace and defence industry of the country. So far HAL has indigenously designed and developed 17 types of aircraft/helicopters, the latest being HTT-40 and LUH, which made their maiden flights in the last fiscal. In addition to this, another 14 types have been produced under licence from foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), which have also contributed to the indigenous content. HAL has designed and developed the PTAE engine (used on Lakshya, Pilotless Target Aircraft), which is the only indigenous aero engine designed in the country so far. Recently ab-initio development of 25 kN turbofan engine and 1,200 kW turbo shaft engine have been taken up, which once successful would be a major step towards self reliance in the field of design and development of aero engines.

HAL also brings in indigenous capability in the field of mid life upgrades of aircraft/helicopters with an aim to increase the lethal capabilities of already proven platforms as well as for obsolescence management. Yet another product line where HAL brings in indigenous capability is the Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs). HAL has set up a Strategic Business Unit (SBU) for UAV segment and has indigenously designed and developed eight kilogramme mini UAV that has been demonstrated to various customers. HAL is also collaborating on development of TAPAS MALE UAV and rotary UAV. Is HAL diversifying into new areas, including civil aviation, with new thrust on regional connectivity?

The HAL-manufactured Do-228 aircraft with a seating capacity of 19 passengers is an ideal platform under ‘Make in India’ category for RCS. The aircraft was previously operated by Vayudoot for short haul regional operations covering almost all parts of the country. With the aim to support the Government of India (GoI) in its mission to provide affordable and sustainable regional air connectivity, HAL has started manufacturing two civil demonstrator aircraft that will rollout in the current fiscal year.When is HAL expected to hit the capital market with initial public offer?

Activities have been taken up by HAL based on GoI approval for disinvestment of 10 pc of their shareholding during 2013. Progress has been made with the identification of Book Running Leading Managers (BRLMs), preparation of Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) and necessary documentation is in place. The data is being updated to March 2017 financials. In the meantime, the option of buy-back has been exercised in 2015-16, through which the company has contributed over INR 52 billion (USD 808 million) to GoI’s reserves (corresponding to 25 pc of share capital).What do you think of ‘Make in India’ campaign and its increasing thrust on defence?

‘Make in India’ is a novel initiative by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi to redefine the industrial product landscape of the country. HAL has been contributing to ‘Make in India’ since inception by way of manufacturing aircraft/helicopter, aero engines, systems and accessories within the country both from in-house R&D efforts and under licence from OEMs. HAL, over the years, has manufactured more than 4,000 aircraft/helicopters, 4,900 aero engines and its associated systems and accessories in the country. Additionally, HAL has overhauled more than 10,000 aircraft and 32,000 aero engines so far. HAL’s ongoing programmes in fixed wing, as well as rotary wing, contribute significantly towards ‘Make in India’. HAL has also launched a ‘Make in India’ portal on its website that gives details of various foreign LRUs, systems, standard parts, electrical, electronic items, etc., for indigenisation by Indian private industries.

We are currently working on projects that are comparable to international standards and welcome new initiatives like ‘Make in India’, that will only help improve our work, says Christopher.

The secretary of Department of Defence R&D and chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Dr S Christopher, talks to Biz@India about new initiatives and programmes while detailing the successes of current projects. He also, with the help of some examples, swats away criticism faced by DRDO.

How does DRDO see its role evolving in view of the government’s ‘Make in India’ programme? As private sector companies get into defence manufacturing, do you see this as an opportunity or a threat?

From the DRDO’s perspective, I will say ‘Make in India’ programme of the Government of India (GoI) is an opportunity. In a nutshell, it is a wonderful thing that should have happened earlier so we welcome it. Let’s assume what ‘Make in India’ can do. One, it can bring in foreign designs to be manufactured in the country. And two, Indian designs by any Research and Development (R&D) establishment, including DRDO, will also be manufactured in the country. Both cases are ‘Make in India’.

The first one, where the designs come in from outside, maybe that’s the scenario you might think is a threat to DRDO. However, let us look at the positive side and assess what benefits that can bring. It can bring in specialised equipment for manufacturing, along with a good amount of trained manpower. It can also bring in an entirely different work culture, new learning and new techniques. Probably, it can teach us some cost-cutting processes and maybe even checkpoints to avoid time overrun can be learned. Manufacturing ethics will be taught and new standards may be evolved. Overall a new modern manufacturing ecosystem will be created.

Today for DRDO design, we are also longing for such a modern and new manufacturing ecosystem. We can always use this as and when it is available to us. So, the new culture and new manufacturing will provide a huge paradigm shift as far as DRDO design is concerned. So, I look at it very positively and welcome this move.Are you also seeking joint ventures with overseas defence manufacturers as part of design development and ‘Make in India’?

We have in the past had some joint ventures, like for instance, BrahMos, which is owned jointly between DRDO and Russian agency. We have 50.5 pc shares while Russia has 49.5 pc shares. We produce a supersonic cruise missile through this joint venture and it is the best of its kind in the world. We are also looking at a long term possible export to the mutually acceptable countries. As far as other systems are concerned, for instance, medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM), we are conducting joint development (not joint venture) with the Israelis to produce a joint product. Otherwise, presently we do not have any immediate future plans for any such joint venture.One of the basic criticisms of DRDO has been around the cost and time overruns of most of its programmes. What steps has DRDO taken to control this?

To answer the first part of your question, there were reasons for this. In the past, DRDO has faced unexpected technology denial regime, we took it as an opportunity and strived hard to develop many complex cutting-edge denied technologies. Sometime the requirements change during the course of development of a project. Consequently, in order to accommodate the additional requirements, delays occur. Hence, we are pushing spiral model for development, wherein new requirements are incorporated in the second or third version, rather than delaying the entire programme. In both measures I am sure, we are likely to control both time and cost.

But I would like to give an example, like for instance in case of Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&CS), which is designed and developed by one of the laboratories of DRDO, Centre for Air Borne Systems (CABS) in Bengaluru – it has taken about USD 110 million for the entire design and development of each unit of that particular AEW&CS or should I say mini AEW&CS.

It has been designed and developed to look like and feel like the bigger AEW&CS in terms of all the functionalities and it is at par with any other international system. In fact, when compared with the Erieye, some of the features this system has are better, like air-to-air refuelling, which isn’t available in other AEW&CS like Erieye, which cost approximately USD 243 million. This is almost double the cost, though we have included development cost, which is also another point to be remembered. Thus, it isn’t necessarily true that all the time the cost is in absolute sense more. Probably initially when we started, we might have asked for lesser funds.

Continuing with the same example, we asked for approximately USD 100 million for each aircraft. In USD 100 million we were supposed to make three systems, but when we completed it, it cost USD 110 million. Even that in absolute sense with respect to the international rate is only half the cost. You must understand we didn’t even take any additional cost for development so the cost is not necessarily more.Is there adequate collaboration between the users of the defence material (the armed forces) and the developers and manufacturers?

Instead of collaboration, I’ll say cooperation. The designs take the lead as far as the programme or the project is concerned. Of course, user is always with us side-by-side. In major programmes, we call a small group of users as the Project Management Team (PMT). They are co-located with the design team and they discuss and provide necessary inputs on a daily basis. They also participate in testing and evaluation at each stage so that the final product is of their need.

Likewise, manufacturers sometimes as concurrent engineering are also identified right in the beginning so as to take into account the capability of manufacturing so that the design can adapt itself to suit the manufacturing methods. But procedurally, occasionally we get blocked from talking to the manufacturer right at the beginning. So, we are looking for means to overcome these hurdles.

When we do that I am sure we’ll have the manufacturer right from day one. There have been instances where we have identified appropriate manufacturers right at the beginning, due to previous knowledge about them, and in those cases, we have all the three cooperating with each other right from day one.

Towards the end of the product, yes there will be some issues not realised earlier by either of the three. These are occasions where testing methodologies take time. Otherwise, I will say, cooperation among all three is always there.In what aspects of defence manufacturing do you believe DRDO is best placed to compete with the best in the world?

Are you getting adequate budgetary and administrative support to stay on top of the game? I believe instead of manufacturing you are asking about the DRDO designed products. I strongly believe that DRDO products are competitive, when compared to international products, both in the quality for the given time and cost, and the infrastructure available.

I have already given examples of AEW&CS, which are recently designed and developed and got inducted in services. I also brought out cost comparisons and pointed out the enhanced features of our products.

As regards the budget and administrative provision – budget can always be increased but at this point of time it is adequate. In addition to our budget, we also get funds from the users when user usable projects are delivered, for example, in the case of AEW&CS India, which we are planning to design and develop on Airbus 330, right from the first day user funded up to the extent of 80 pc of the project. Likewise, in the case of maritime multi mission aircraft, which is designed and developed for Coast Guard on Airbus C295, aircraft is being funded by the Coast Guard to the extent of 90 pc. So, you can understand that we do get funds, not only R&D fund directly from GoI but also from users. Thereby our budget is not at all deficient.What are the focus areas for DRDO and your star programmes for the period 2017-2024?

My vision is that India will become a major exporter of defence products during this time period and DRDO shall transform into self sustained, profit making enterprise of GoI. My immediate concern will be induction of Astra missile system, which is in the final stages. We had gone through several trials and most of them are meeting all requirements. We are trying to cover entire envelope before we get ready to launch.

Followed by that we are also trying to mount programme for indigenous missile development meeting several other requirements of the services. The next would be our Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), which are already designed and developed jointly with two manufacturers within the country and it has reached the prototype stage. We are trying to manufacture three more pieces of each and it will go through the entire trials and I’m sure we will be able to get it going successfully.

Another important programme includes the Nirbhay trials, which is also in good shape and we are expecting another four to five trials to be completed in the following years. You are aware that we have got an Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Rustom programme that’s also taken off. The first flight is over. We’re improving the systems in various aspects, once that’s done, then it will be another product in the pipeline.

As regards AEW&CS India, which is a major programme, we are almost in the sanctioned stage. We also have several smaller programmes in life sciences. In the naval systems, we will be making huge sonar systems and weapons.As Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) integration has begun, what are your plans to further develop the aircraft and its capabilities?

The LCA has been inducted as an Initial Operation Configuration (IOC) in 45th Squadron – Flying Dagger of Indian Air Force and a number of aircraft is rolling out. We have decided to go for the next version wherein we will have an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, as well as the Electronic Support Measure (ESM) system. With these systems, we’ll be completing the design and the manufacturing will start.

In the meantime, we have started weaponising aircraft, so for several systems we have completed trials including Beyond Visual Range missile (BVR) trials, so the present version itself is capable of handling the weapons.

Next version with new radar and other systems will have even more capabilities. In the long term, we are working on twin engine systems. Simultaneously we are working towards our engine programmes as well.

The ministry said HAL's focus in the year will be on production of Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).

"Among the important milestones targeted to be achieved include, clearance by director general of civil aviation for civil version of Dornier-228 aircraft, Jaguar DARIN-III upgrade and Mirage 2000 upgrade," it said.

It said the company has also laid specific emphasis on capacity building, modernisation and aimed to achieve capital expenditure of Rs 1,300 crore in 2017-18. (No mention of Tejas at all)

Posting the brief about MOUs. Details in PIB web sites. -------------------------MoU Signed Between Department of Defence Production and GSL

This year’s MoU target for ‘Revenue from Operations’ has been set at ₹ 1150 crore, which is 43 percent higher than the financial year 2016-17 target of ₹ 800 crore. Notably in financial year 2016-17, the Shipyard achieved historical high VoP of ₹ 1030 crore and PBT of ₹ 177 crore. GSL was adjudged as ‘Best Performing Shipyard’ by MoD. Target for PAT to Networth ratio has been set at 13.30 percent.

Export target has been set at 28 percent of ‘Revenue from Operations’, which is highest among DPSU Shipyards.

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Mou Signed between Department of Defence Production and HSL The MoU, outlines targets on various performance parameters for the company during the year. The revenue from operations has been targeted at Rs 600 Crore.

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MoU Signed Between Department Of Defence Production And GRSE

Target to achieve a turnover of ₹ 1350 crore which is about 40 percent more than actual achievements of last financial year (2016-17).

During the current year, the company planned to spend ₹ 50 crore as CAPEX for further strengthening the infrastructure facilities including improving the design capabilities for construction of P-17A ships.

As part of ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government, GRSE has set a target to develop Indigenous Capability and Infrastructure for Assembly, Test & Trial of Marine Diesel Engines, at its Engine Plant at Ranchi, during the current financial year.

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Mou Signed between Department of Defence Production and BDL

The revenue from operations, as per the MoU, has been targeted at Rs 5300 crore, which is an increase of 20 percent over the previous year. BDL has planned to spend an amount of Rs 140 crore for modernization and Capital expenditure.

BDL has also drawn a roadmap to meet its scheduled delivery of ATGM and SAM to its customer for the year 2017-18. Continuing with its green initiative, BDL has planned 5 MW Solar Plant at its upcoming unit at lbrahimpatnam in Telangana.

A top Army general today said Pakistan has a better military industrial base and exports more defence equipment than India, as he came down heavily on ordnance factories which manufacture weapons for the forces. Lt. Gen.

Sarath Chand, Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS), said the ordnance factories have not been able to keep pace with changing technology while “there is no competition whatsoever” and it is “an unsuccessful method of supporting our defence requirements”. “I would even go to the extent of saying that Pakistan probably has a better industrial base, as far as defence production is concerned, than our country. In fact they export defence equipment abroad, definitely more than what we are doing,” he said.

He wondered whether the functioning of ordnance factories is because of the assured orders they have or the lack of accountability. “There is little or no research and development. They do not even have the capability of absorbing the industry through transfer of technology, and in some cases they have even failed to assemble products that have been imported from abroad,” Lt. Gen. Chand said. “It is very hard to see ordnance factories changing in the present state. Overall it has become an unsuccessful method of supporting our defence requirements,” he said.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of AMICON 2017, a two-day conference organised by the Army and the CII. He noted that having indigenous industrial capability is very crucial for the country. He further cautioned that in an event of a war, one has to look abroad for its sustenance. “And very often, friends have let us down whenever the chips have been down,” Lt. Gen. Chand observed. He said the ‘Make in India’ programme, the Defence Procurement Policy 2016, the strategic partnership model, and the creation of the Army Design Bureau (ADB), are major steps taken by the government for fast-tracking indigenisation in the sector.

“I would even go to the extent of saying that Pakistan probably has a better industrial base, as far as defence production is concerned, than our country. In fact they export defence equipment abroad, definitely more than what we are doing,”

Situation must have reached FUBAR, otherwise a senior person like VCOAS would not make such a public statement

The situation with OFB is so bad that they cannot even draft proper contracts for new plants. Yours truly has worked on 2 such tenders floated by ordnance factories and can attest to the above situation. These type of shoddy contracts are perfect recipe for future disputes and dissatisfaction between the client(i.e Ordnance Factories) and the Contractor. Many a times the contracts themselves are being continuously extended in the hope of finding the requisite number of bidders or just outright cancelled.

Meanwhile most of the OFB plants are getting older by the day and production is continuously falling. And OFB simply does not have expertise in terms of Contract Management/Project Management to construct new plants both greenfield and brownfield.

Majority of OFB staff is into operations and is OKish in that aspect. By OKish I mean they are atleast mediocre in operations/production. But as far implementing new projects is concerned they are close to zero.

The cardinal mistake of OFB has been not to develop the Project Execution skills and expertise either inhouse or through a govt/psu consultant(like EIL or MECON) for defence projects. Now ofcourse it is too late. The forces as well as GOI both have run out of patience by now.

And both Govt and forces are equally responsible for the mess that OFB is. It takes two hands to clap.What prevents the Army Ordnance Lt. general to be part of the OFB mgt team? Maybe after retiring?Any where else the forces will become part of the management of those enterprises.Its not like a I give orders and you make them and btw no profit to plough back nor any R&D as I have another white elephant to do that.

Ramana ji, Past Govts are definitely responsible for the mess(mess is actually a euphemism for what is happening in OFB).

What I wonder is how the govts of the day just ignored this extremely critical sector till now?

Words like Bad or Tragic etc do not even start describing the situation at OFB. After decades of operating plants capable of manufacturing basic war stuff like nitroglycerine and common caliber cartridges like 5.56 MM/9 MM, they are still dependent on foreign vendors for supply of these plants. Basically no amount of reverse engineering to develop a design repository was even attempted. I mean how criminal is that? Worst part is they still need months or even years to award the contract for such basic plants.

To illustrate the incompetence of OFB let me give you an example involving nitroglycerine plants. All together there would be less than half a dozen nitroglycerine plant suppliers including technology in the world out of which 3-4 are European. The very same companies or their ancestors have supplied OFB with Nitroglycerine plants since atleast 1960's. So OFB has almost more than 50 years of operating such plants. Inspite of such massive experience in operating, handling and maintaining such plants, even today if OFB needs a new plant it needs to contact the same suppliers. Which means such huge learning was simply wasted by not going for reverse engineering. Before somebody asks reverse engineering in this case is not the same as reverse engineering a weapons system. Here it is simple Process engineering which means lots of piping, lots of valves and lots of pumps all being controlled through a decent automation/instrumentation system. indian companies are actually very good in it. That is it. They worked on the same system for decades and are still unable to replicate it.When and if these 3-4 euro companies start playing hardball, OFB wouldnt be able to produce even NG in sufficient quantities. I am tlking about NG which is most basic component of all explosives propellants along with NC.

OFB disaster is not just due to corruption or union politics. Rather it is a story of abject criminal negligence if not outright and deliberate malicious intent. The idea is so simple. Produce all the nukes and ICBMs you want but you will not be able to manufacture simple grenades without gasping for breath.

First you need to understand how Congress Party was funded pre-Partition.Indian businessmen mostly banias (Bajaj, Birlas, Ruias etc) would fund the Congress party mainly because of Mahatma Gandhi. Please don't bring in political correctness. Even Maulana Azad writes in his autobiography.After Gandhi was murdered, they lost incentive to fund on two counts: No more own representative and Nehru did not like business class. Latter even kept them at a distance and as new untouchables!!!Wonder how he thought India economy would develop. Well he had those Leftists from LSE in the Planning Commission.

But party needs funds to run.So arms imports were a mechanism to fund the Congress party as this makes it exclusive for them and denies it for others. And can brow beat others with foreign funds tag if it came to that.

Everyone thinks Rajiv Gandhi started this arms purchase corruption.

Its actually Chacha Nehru who did through out the 1950s.Mostly purchased expensive shoddy British weapons and adjusted from Sterling Balances which should have been brought back.

If you note the Bofors scam, its origins were in Indian Gandhi deal with Austrian President for the Voest guns which was not completed due to her killing. Rajiv picked it up with Sweden and transferred it into his private account.V.P. Singh found out and nailed him for that. The transfer to private account.The reason OFB is kept stunted is to enable political party funding.To enable foreign purchases OFB, DRDO and DPSU are kept on tight leash with marginal funds so they cannot compete.And military procurement guys get foreign junkets to inspect these purchases.And natashas.And generals talking tough is beating up the stunted dwarves.

Did they get involved right from beginning?

However I have to give credit to the Artillery officers who stood by Dhanush development and ensured enough orders to get it moving despite trials and tribulations.What they did is model for product development. they had a liaison team working together with the GCF engineers and then through the development trials and took it on to the battery trials.

I like the attitude of Lt Gen Joshi who personally trialed the RIF gun and gave proper feedback.

If the Armor guys had done the same Arjun would have seen the day long ago.

At the end of the day the buck stops at the government, and our politicians are clueless (including the current lot, like it or not). Only time they are interested is when there is scam, either to make money or corner the other party. There is no such thing as institutional memory about defence (or MIC more specifically) amongst the political class. Frankly I think a lot of BRFites who have spent atleast 5-10 years are more clued in than the people in power.

Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to satate :- (a) whether it is a fact that an Indian scientist has designed indigenous bullet-proof jacket;

(b) if so, whether the Ministry has approved it; and

(c) if so, what are the details in this regard?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF DEFENCE(SHRI ARUN JAITLEY)

(a) Dr. Shantanu Bhaumik, Amrita University, Coimbatore has claimed that he has developed Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJs) which is based on thermoplastic composite materials using carbon as a reinforcement for making Hard Armour Panels of BPJ. However, in his claim he has not submitted any kind of trial result for the authentication of technology developed for BPJ.

(b) & (c): Larsen & Toubro Limited Coimbatore has submitted proposal for development of Light Weight Bullet Proof Material in association with Amrita University Coimbatore. Prof Shantanu Bhaumik of Amrita University is the academic support for the project. The project is yet to sanction under Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme which focuses on funding the development of defence and dual use technologies that are currently not available with the Indian defence industry or have not been developed so far and inculcate Research and Development (R&D) culture in Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for defence applications.

The JV partners have invested close to Rs 70 crore in the facility and production is slated to start in a few weeks from now. KRAS is yet to have the confirmed orders from the Indian defence forces.

It will be engaged in development of a wide range of advanced capabilities like Command Control and Guidance, Electro-Optics, Remote Weapon Systems, Precision Guided Munitions and System Engineering for System Integration. The facility will also target to export its products to other countries, according to the company.

The company is expected to supply components for the Israeli anti-tank guided missiles called Spike Missiles, which will be integrated by Hyderabad-based public sector defence company Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) once the deal gets through. "The process of finalisation of vendors for the said missile has not yet started. Once the process is on, they too will participate along with other companies in India," an industry source said. Spike Missiles were designed and developed by the JV partner Rafael Advanced Defence Systems.